Desk top



Nov. 6, 1928.

B. E. RICHARDSON DESK TOP Filed Dec. 13, 1926 Patented Nov. 6, 1928.

UNITED STATES BAYARD E. RICHARDSON, F GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN,

nnsx 101.

Application filed December 1a, 1926. Serial No. 154,560.

This invention relates to a. top for desks,

tables, or other articles of furniture which make use of a horizontal top, and the invention is particularly concerned with the construction of a novel top wherein the core, which heretofore usually has been of wood strengthened and reinforced by cross bands of veneer, isreplaced by a cementitious composition impervious to and insoluble in water and to which finishing veneers may be applied at its upper and lower sides and border bands at its ed es, the same being readily glued thereto. his makes a light, strong, durable and inexpensive top to manufacture and one which, by reason of the material used, is very easily manufactured, there being no warping by reason of the core swelling and shrinking as has previously been the case with wood cores which take up water easily and many of the difliculties and troubles hpreinbefore considered impossible to eliminate, are eliminated with the construction of top which I have devised.

For an understanding of the invention reference may be had to the following de scription taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which,

Fig." 1 is a perspective view of the inner core used with' the top of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary erspective view of one corner of the top after the core has had the border bands and :the upper and lower veneers attached thereto, and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fra entary vertical section through one side 025 316 construction shown in Fig. 2.

,Like reference parts in the different figures of the drawing.

The core is a composition of magnesium 10* oxychloride throughout which particles of cork of varying sizes are distributed. The magnesium oxychloride is made by mixing magnesium oxide and magnesium chloride in solution and working the cork into 'the 415 plastic mass which eventuall sets and -.hardens, being placed in a mou d so thata plate or slab such as indicated at 1, of sub.

stantially the required dimensions for a table, desk or other top, is produced throughout which the cork, indicated at 2, is dis- Seminated. The, particles of cork may be.

of very big sizes, there being no necessi of screening or maintaining the cork particles to any one size. The cork used'ma hulk 0 l much as tv percent of the so as to make absolutely smooth parallel I part of the present invention. characters refer to like the slab 1 I made. When the magnesium 2 oxide and magnesium chloride react to pro duce the .magnesium'oxychloride all of the water which has been used is-absorbed as water of crystallization in the reaction'and the magnesium oxychloride produced is .thereafter not acted upon byxwater, does not absorb it and does not dissolvein the presence of water. The oork, of course, is substantially impervious to the penetration of water as iswell known. 4

After the slab thus described has been produced the edges are trimmed by any suitable cutting device such as a saw or plane and if necessary the upper and lower sides of the slab are planed or otherwise finished so that they will be parallel. The oxyehloride impregnated with cork is very easily worked without detriment to the tools used and can be finished to any desired size. The edge bands or border strips3 are glued to the edges of the slab, use being made of casein glue. Then both sides are surfaced, that is sanded down or otherwise machined upper and lower surfaces. After this is done the veneers indicated at 4 are applied. Two layers of veneer are shownat each side and in practice the inner veneer may be of; a more expensive type and one capable of taking a high finish, such as mahogany, oak, walnut and the like. 4

This completes the top except for the.

necessary sanding, staining, varnishing and the other finishing operations which form no strong and durable and is particularly effective in that its freedom from water absorp-j 1 tion precludes any warping or twisting of the top during either the manufacture of the core or the manufacture of the finished top.

Moreover the consumption of wood in the manufacture of the top-is greatly'reduced inasmuch as the core which forms a very large proportion of the'top is wholly replaced'by the composition described. The 9? invention is defined in the appended claims and is to be considered comprehensive of all forms of structure coming their scope.

Iclaim: a

' 1. A. top of the class described comprising,

a core of cementitious material disseminated throughout which are pieces of cork, wood bands glued to the edges of the core, and wood veneers glued to the upper and lower sides of the core and to the upper and lower sides of the bands.

2. A top of the class described comprising,

a core of uniform thickness of magnesium uniform thickness of magnesium oxychloride, having small pieces of cork disseminated throughout the mass of the core, wood bands glued to the edges of said core, and

the veneers wood veneers glued to the upper and lower sides of the core and to the upper and lower sides of said bands.

4. Atop of the class'described comprising, a core of uniform thickness, of magnesium oxychloride having small pieces of cork disseminated throu bout the mass of the core and exposed on 1ts surfaces, wood bands glued to each of the respective edges of said core and wood veneers glued to the upper and lower sides of the core and overla pin and lued to the upper and lower si es 0 said ands, said glue on both the bands and adhering to the exposed pieces of cork on the surfaces of the core.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

BAYARD E. RICHARDSON. 

